Another Dole increase

kilburn

Christ when you think things can not get much worse it seems an extra 800 people were joining the unemployment line last month probably taken up with students but thats now over 15,500 in the city area alone.

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/business/jobs/unemployment_rises_across_limerick_1_2925411

So lets try to be positive, what suggestions do you guys have were jobs can be created in this city, realistic ones would be great ! Maybe a few of us can start a campaign to highlight just how fooked the place is.

Kess73

Realistically the only way to have an impact on the frighteningly huge unemployment figures in Limerick is for new employers to be attracted to the city and county.

Be it retail, services, or commercial. Short term "fixes" like the joke WPP set up and similar only muddle the actual unemployment figures by making them appear slightly less worse than they actually are, whilst providing no medium to long term employment.


Drastic changes in the cost of rates needed to be brought in three or four years ago when the other cities were doing likewise, and attractive packages should have been put in place to attract large retailers back into the city centre. Half assed efforts like talking about reducing rates by a quarter of one percent and so on were a joke and an insult to any business fighting to survive.


Nothing that would bring employment would come without a large short term cost financially though. But the medium to long term gain is what needs to be looked at, and those with the power to do so should look at things in that manner rather than continue with the same myopic "leadership" that has brought Limerick city to where it is today.


A gamble is what is needed now, in terms of reducing costs like rates and even down to things like parking discs etc., and people strong enough to wait out that gamble as nothing will happen quickly even with reduced rates.

Local authorities/councils/councillors should be getting onto the local Ministers and TDs and make them earn their keep by approaching NAMA about the number of sites now under the NAMA banner in Limerick to try and force some movement on them.

At this point things are desperate enough to look towards foreign investment in Limerick, similar to the talks of Chinese investment in Athlone town. Limerick has access to rail networks, motorways and an international airport as well as many untapped or underdeveloped resources that would surely interest outside investors should the right approach get made.

The raw figures for those out of work in Limerick should be pushed in the media and pushed hard to get them shown at national level.

People on the local authorities/planning commissions etc should be brought to task on what they have done and not done, with some of the odd/dodgy decisions getting the same kind of spotlight in the local media as Daviod Norris got in the national media. Of course that would require a local media that was actyually good in their professions and not just stooge media, but I digress. For too long too many people involved with local authorites/councils/politics have let their own interests take the front seat over what they are actually hired to do.


Wish I had some short and snappy idea for the OP in terms of creating the type of job numbers the city and surrounding areas need, but the problem is far bigger than any ideas that would potenially create only 10,20,75, 100 jobs.

SarahBeep!

If you're on the dole you're technically a government employee. Have people working with the OPW. The streets could be cleaner, there's potholes to be filled, busses and squad cars and paddywagons to be washed. Jobs like that would soon get rid of the lazy people and make them get up and start looking for a job.

Kess73

SarahBeep! wrote: »

If you're on the dole you're technically a government employee. Have people working with the OPW. The streets could be cleaner, there's potholes to be filled, busses and squad cars and paddywagons to be washed. Jobs like that would soon get rid of the lazy people and make them get up and start looking for a job.

Not possible despite it seeming a common sense type idea upon first glance. You would run a gauntlet of unions and legal redtape to implement such an idea and the costing of it would be staggering when auxiliary costings were taken into account.

Triangla

I loved living in Limerick, tons to see there.

It could be another Kilkenny tourismwise with a little bit of work, easy to access from Shannon and good gateway to Killarney, Cork, Galway - even Dublin with the motorways.

With Thomond Park there could be a lot more gigs there.

It has UL and LIT, come to think of it - why the hell isn't it doing well? That city should be awash with jobs.

Roadend

Kess73 wrote: »

Not possible despite it seeming a common sense type idea upon first glance. You would run a gauntlet of unions and legal redtape to implement such an idea and the costing of it would be staggering when auxiliary costings were taken into account.

Here's a thought, fk the unions

SarahBeep!

Kess73 wrote: »

SarahBeep! wrote: »

If you're on the dole you're technically a government employee. Have people working with the OPW. The streets could be cleaner, there's potholes to be filled, busses and squad cars and paddywagons to be washed. Jobs like that would soon get rid of the lazy people and make them get up and start looking for a job.

Not possible despite it seeming a common sense type idea upon first glance. You would run a gauntlet of unions and legal redtape to implement such an idea and the costing of it would be staggering when auxiliary costings were taken into account.

I just think is so pathetic that Im trying to do a full time degree with my grant being cut year on year and people are just HANDED this money. Out of a group of 90 that did the leaving in '09 about 70% are on the dole. Then they're in FB complaining the social want to PAY THEM to do a bulls*t course like typing while Im training to be a teacher and get about one tenth of the money they do. WTF.

phill106

SarahBeep! wrote: »

I just think is so pathetic that Im trying to do a full time degree with my grant being cut year on year and people are just HANDED this money. Out of a group of 90 that did the leaving in '09 about 70% are on the dole. Then they're in FB complaining the social want to PAY THEM to do a bulls*t course like typing while Im training to be a teacher and get about one tenth of the money they do. WTF.

trust me sarah, job market in limerick/clare is rubbish atm. any job on offer is heavily over subscribed, with most companies not even replying to cvs.
while i do agree there is some who have no interest in a job, alot are trying and there is very little out there.

Kev_ps3

SarahBeep! wrote: »

If you're on the dole you're technically a government employee. Have people working with the OPW. The streets could be cleaner, there's potholes to be filled, busses and squad cars and paddywagons to be washed. Jobs like that would soon get rid of the lazy people and make them get up and start looking for a job.

:rolleyes:

aN.Droid

SarahBeep! wrote: »

I just think is so pathetic that Im trying to do a full time degree with my grant being cut year on year and people are just HANDED this money. Out of a group of 90 that did the leaving in '09 about 70% are on the dole. Then they're in FB complaining the social want to PAY THEM to do a bulls*t course like typing while Im training to be a teacher and get about one tenth of the money they do. WTF.

Isn't the chance of getting a job as a teacher near nil nowadays? Chances are you will be on the dole queue when you finish your course and your tune will have changed.

new business is what we need. And when I say that I don't mean another 2 euro shop. I have looked into starting my own place and the rates are a killer. If it was cheaper and easier to start my own place I would do it in the morning. I would rather stay in Limerick but if the city doesn't do anything about there rates then I will have to go elsewhere!

kilburn

Please dont drag this down with comments about people on the dole getting more than you for studying, the idea behind this thread is to generate ideas not whine. I know loads of people on the dole who would jump at the chance of a job tomorrow, myself included.

LadyTBolt

I still miss the forecourt attendants who used to fill my car for me which meant I never had to leave my car to get petrol.
I don't see them in any petrol station anymore.
This was very handy when my children were babies and toddlers as it's nervewrecking leaving the car, putting petrol in and then leaving to go and queue to pay. As well as other days when it was raining.
To tip some young lad €1 or €2 to do it for me was great.
If that job was re-invented for young jobseekers / college students whereby you would hoot for service with an extra €1.50 added to your bill it could open up a few jobs.
I understand petrol stations do not want to be taking on further paye workers as it adds to their costs but what if an individual paid a nominal fee to the petrol station owner instead to allow them to carry out a service on the premises? This may not be the ideal scenario but it's a thought.
Just a thought

As well as ironing. If there was a place in town where I could drop in my ironing and collect it the next day I would pay for that.

Home car wash. If somebody was to come to my home and wash/polish/hoover my car I would like that. They can do it for dogs, why not cars?

I think the service industry is the way to go for job creation.
Waiting on the government/public service/foreign investment companies is just not going to get jobs moving.

kilburn

Excellent those are the ideas we want, any enterprising students out there watch this space

SarahBeep!

Limericks wrote: »

Isn't the chance of getting a job as a teacher near nil nowadays? Chances are you will be on the dole queue when you finish your course and your tune will have changed.

I'd rather hop on a plane than stand in a dole queue. How many people are letting their skills go to waste??

kilburn

SarahBeep! wrote: »

I'd rather hop on a plane than stand in a dole queue. How many people are letting their skills go to waste??

Some people dont have that option best of luck to ya when you go

aN.Droid

SarahBeep! wrote: »

I'd rather hop on a plane than stand in a dole queue. How many people are letting their skills go to waste??

So you would rather waste Irish tax money and get your degree in Ireland and then fly off somewhere else and pay tax there while costing our state more?

That, in my opinion is worse then being on the dole.

SarahBeep!

Limericks wrote: »

So you would rather waste Irish tax money and get your degree in Ireland and then fly off somewhere else and pay tax there while costing our state more?

That, in my opinion is worse then being on the dole.

I'd have no problem paying fees if I knew it was a proper system and the money was going back to the University, not into the big black government hole. How about a little more effort is put into catching people who are working on the dole, how about making people who are on the dole do charity work, hm?? :rolleyes:

Mc Love

LadyTBolt wrote: »

As well as ironing. If there was a place in town where I could drop in my ironing and collect it the next day I would pay for that.

I do believe this service is available in Limerick, they collect your clothes, iron them and bring them back to you.

Dont recall the details though

aN.Droid

SarahBeep! wrote: »

I'd have no problem paying fees if I knew it was a proper system and the money was going back to the University, not into the big black government hole. How about a little more effort is put into catching people who are working on the dole, how about making people who are on the dole do charity work, hm?? :rolleyes:

How about making people who take money from the state to go to college are made to work in Ireland for a period of time, hm??:rolleyes:

SarahBeep!

Limericks wrote: »

How about making people who take money from the state to go to college are made to work in Ireland for a period of time, hm??:rolleyes:

If they could find a job for me I'd be more than happy :rolleyes:

Kess73

LadyTBolt wrote: »

I still miss the forecourt attendants who used to fill my car for me which meant I never had to leave my car to get petrol.
I don't see them in any petrol station anymore.
This was very handy when my children were babies and toddlers as it's nervewrecking leaving the car, putting petrol in and then leaving to go and queue to pay. As well as other days when it was raining.
To tip some young lad €1 or €2 to do it for me was great.
If that job was re-invented for young jobseekers / college students whereby you would hoot for service with an extra €1.50 added to your bill it could open up a few jobs.
I understand petrol stations do not want to be taking on further paye workers as it adds to their costs but what if an individual paid a nominal fee to the petrol station owner instead to allow them to carry out a service on the premises? This may not be the ideal scenario but it's a thought.
Just a thought

As well as ironing. If there was a place in town where I could drop in my ironing and collect it the next day I would pay for that.

Home car wash. If somebody was to come to my home and wash/polish/hoover my car I would like that. They can do it for dogs, why not cars?

I think the service industry is the way to go for job creation.
Waiting on the government/public service/foreign investment companies is just not going to get jobs moving.

There are a good few places that will iron clothes for you. First one that springs to mind is the laundrette in the Racefield shopping centre on Father Russell road.


There were a few guys that did the home car valeting, but the two I know went out of business when the economy went downhill. Guess people tightening their belts wiped out that service.


Forecourt assistants were got rid of to increase shop sales at service stations. Statoil were one of the first to do it across the board some years ago when they introduced their Fareplay branded stores. The idea was that if customers sit in their cars and get their fuel pumped for them, then they would have no reason to enter the store and impulse buy. So no forecourt assistants means more footfall instore and more cash in tills, so don't hold your breath waiting for forecourt assistants to return across the board in the bigger chains.

The idea of someone paying the station to be allowed to pump fuel is a no no as well. It would be an insurance nightmare for stations and a potential legal minefield.


I agree with you in that the service industry is a good way to create lots of jobs, but given that the sector is struggling badly and will most likely be the sector that loses the most jobs this year and probably next year also, some kind of investment or packages that include incentives for companies to stay/arrive and also things like rate drops etc to help existing companies to retain current staff, it is a sector that most certainly needs help in creating jobs and if left alone is in no state to create a large number of jobs in Limerick or nationwide.

aN.Droid

SarahBeep! wrote: »

If they could find a job for me I'd be more than happy :rolleyes:

I don't mean working in your studied profession I mean working menial jobs. sweeping the streets, etc. Like some people want for people on the dole.

Why don't you take your own advice and do charity work while you try to find a job instead of fecking off after costing the state thousands of euro. I don't know if you realise but the entrance fee's are not what it costs the government to send someone to college. It costs a hell of allot more.

SarahBeep!

Limericks wrote: »

I don't mean working in your studied profession I mean working menial jobs. sweeping the streets, etc. Like some people want for people on the dole.

Why don't you take your own advice and do charity work while you try to find a job instead of fecking off after costing the state thousands of euro. I don't know if you realise but the entrance fee's are not what it costs the government to send someone to college. It costs a hell of allot more.

I have a job and have only spend three months unemployed since I was 14. I do charity work. I have done menial jobs for far less than minimum wage. I know exactly what it costs to educate me and I appreciate. Would you like to question anything else about me??

aN.Droid

SarahBeep! wrote: »

I have a job and have only spend three months unemployed since I was 14. I do charity work. I have done menial jobs for far less than minimum wage. I know exactly what it costs to educate me and I appreciate. Would you like to question anything else about me??

I have not questioned you about your current situation and am also not basing my ideas solely around you. I am happy to hear you have a job, your one of the lucky ones. What I am trying to say is in the larger scale, people are collecting there degrees after there years costing the state allot of money and fecking off elsewhere to pay tax in another state.

In my opinion, and remember it is just a lone one I speak for no one else, if you study here and earn a degree here you should pay back the system. Either by working a few years and paying tax, or if you want to jump ship early pay some of the cash spent on you back. I know it would never happen that way but that's just how I think it should be.

People on the dole are costing the state 9776 flat euro's a year each. This is before they collect any other benefits and is ofcourse the full amount possible to get. That is a fraction of what it costs to send someone to college.

Now I am not attacking someone for taking the initiative of getting an education because I would kill for one myself. (More like kill for the piece of paper that says I have the education as I am quite learned myself) What I am trying to say is try and pay back what you can! Don't just jump ship.

MyKeyG

SarahBeep! wrote: »

Would you like to question anything else about me??

I would. Where did you pick up that big chip on your shoulder? Maybe you should try a spell on the dole yourself and see how utterly soul destroying it is for the rest of us. But no you choose to rant obtusely and give us the poor mouth, ignorantly judging people who are desperate for the feel of real cash and are willing to work for it. I noticed you changed your initial comment from everyone on the dole to Welfare abusers, god help the future generation if it's you imparting their knowledge!

For your information I went to my Social Welfare facilitator and my local FAS office within the last two weeks and neither were even willing to talk about employment instead suggesting a course.

Personally I don't want to take a typewriting course or any other farcical waste of time they've come up with. I don't want to cost the tax payer even more money taking a course that's not worth the ink it would take to print on my CV.

SarahBeep!

MyKeyG wrote: »

I would. Where did you pick up that big chip on your shoulder? Maybe you should try a spell on the dole yourself and see how utterly soul destroying it is for the rest of us. But no you choose to rant obtusely and give us the poor mouth, ignorantly judging people who are desperate for the feel of real cash and are willing to work for it. I noticed you changed your initial comment from everyone on the dole to Welfare abusers, god help the future generation if it's you imparting their knowledge!

For your information I went to my Social Welfare facilitator and my local FAS office within the last two weeks and neither were even willing to talk about employment instead suggesting a course.

Personally I don't want to take a typewriting course or any other farcical waste of time they've come up with. I don't want to cost the tax payer even more money taking a course that's not worth the ink it would take to print on my CV.

I can only comment on what I've encountered, and that is what I've encountered.

Resi12

Everyone is so hostile here, wow chill out. I really, really never get any anger pointed at genuine people on the dole (I would say the vast majority are). It's not our fault the government is making ridiculous 'solutions' to counteract the growing epidemic.

The new internship system is a joke, a full 40 hour week job for a max 238 a week for someone who has a degree? Seriously, slave hours and also just because someone is on the dole does not mean they have to be publicly demeaned/looked down upon.

The caste system died out long ago. Anyone from Limerick no less thinking they are above people makes me laugh because they themselves get so riled up when this county is looked down on. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

LadyTBolt

Resi12 wrote: »

It's not our fault the government is making ridiculous 'solutions' to counteract the growing epidemic.

The new internship system is a joke, a full 40 hour week job for a max 238 a week for someone who has a degree? Seriously, slave hours and also just because someone is on the dole does not mean they have to be publicly demeaned/looked down upon.

I do not agree that the new internship system is a joke.
For instance, you've recently left college as a qualified montessori teacher (example). You have the qualification but no work experience. You have two choices. You can pick up the dole and stay at home and wait for a fantastic paying job, or you can gain work experience which when a job does arise down the line you have the qualification and the experience to back it up.
I'd rather give a job to someone with a degree and some experience than somebody with just a degree.

I do understand some employers are taking advantage of it but in regards to the intern, which would be more self-satisfactory - sitting at home on the dole just because you have a degree and feel €238 is not enough pay for all the years you spent as a student or getting up off your back side day in day out to receive €238 and valuable work experience which you will not gain at home. I know what I'd do and I don't think it's a joke.

Berty

LadyTbolt.

Employers are abusing the internship programme. Example

Jobbridge Facebook page. Read the Wall Posts

http://www.facebook.com/pages/JobBridge/224594244220529

One I saw was a Regional Sales Manager covering 6 counties. 40 hour week. €236 per week. Come on.

While I'm here I suppose: With all the unemployed people in the country with a vast array of experience why, then, do we need Internships?

1huge1

SarahBeep! wrote: »

I just think is so pathetic that Im trying to do a full time degree with my grant being cut year on year and people are just HANDED this money. Out of a group of 90 that did the leaving in '09 about 70% are on the dole. Then they're in FB complaining the social want to PAY THEM to do a bulls*t course like typing while Im training to be a teacher and get about one tenth of the money they do. WTF.

You can also see it from the point of view that people like myself in full time 3rd level education who have no grant and have to listen to people whinging about their grant being cut when all my fee's are either coming out of my own pocket or my poor parents.

I do agree that there should be more schemes to get people on the dole working, but I so think you are underestimating the amount of people on social welfare that are actively searching for jobs.

On another note I don't see how we don't have people in jail out cleaning the motorways etc...We are paying for them as well.

Resi12 wrote: »

Everyone is so hostile here, wow chill out. I really, really never get any anger pointed at genuine people on the dole (I would say the vast majority are). It's not our fault the government is making ridiculous 'solutions' to counteract the growing epidemic.

The new internship system is a joke, a full 40 hour week job for a max 238 a week for someone who has a degree? Seriously, slave hours and also just because someone is on the dole does not mean they have to be publicly demeaned/looked down upon.

The caste system died out long ago. Anyone from Limerick no less thinking they are above people makes me laugh because they themselves get so riled up when this county is looked down on. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

You really are looking at it the wrong way, you make it sound like a punishment, these people are getting experience while they are on these internships, it gives them motivation, and it is good for both your physical and mental health to be working rather than being on social welfare.

At the end of the day people do have bills to pay no doubt, but not everything is about money.

Kess73

Lads and lasses


I think the OP started a pretty good thread which could spark a good debate on pro and cons of different ideas for job creation and, more importantly once jobs are in place, job retention in and for Limerick city/county.


Maybe we should keep this thread for discussion on what would or would not work for Limerick?

And keep the attacking of people on the dole or the attacking of people in college for another thread? I know there are people on the dole today that don't want to work ever, just as there are people going to college who end up being constant students who just keep going from course to course whilst avoiding putting their education to use on the work front, but in both cases they are not representive of the majority of folk on the dole and in college imho.



Beer Baron, I totally agree about the work internship setup. It is a total joke and just as useless long term as the WPP set up. It comes with no guarantee of full time work, and in a hell of a lot of cases does not teach new skills to those doing the internships. It simply gives employers workers on a pittance whose skills would normally be worth a hell of a lot more. Basically it reduces the worth of years of experience and/or years of education, and by doing that it pushes the unskilled workforce further down the pecking order as well. At some point the internship set up will reach saturation point and somethiong will give and then there will be thousands and thousands of people who are not counted as being on the live register back on the unemplyment line.

Without genuine job creation the internship set up is useless as there is no next stage for the majority of those doing in. Basically a band aid solutiuon for a wound needing stitching.

L.T.P.

Limericks wrote: »

How about making people who take money from the state to go to college are made to work in Ireland for a period of time, hm??:rolleyes:

Are you going to create the jobs for them?

mad_shopaholic

all these schemes of cutting the dole for certain ages groups and proof of job seeking should have been done during the boom years when the career spongers were the only ones on the dole there would have been no excuse for them not to be working.

As for the internships they are slave labour to companies who otherwise might have hired someone if the scheme was not in place. Why cant the government offer the interships only in understaffed government departments such as hospitals etc which would give the people on the internship experience as well as the tax payers funding the interships a more efficient system with more staff!

Berty

mad_shopaholic wrote: »

all these schemes of cutting the dole for certain ages groups and proof of job seeking should have been done during the boom years when the career spongers were the only ones on the dole there would have been no excuse for them not to be working.

I think we did have the CE schemes and probably still have one or two floating around.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/unemployment_and_redundancy/employment_support_schemes/community_employment_scheme.html


During the boom

"Sur' they wont employ me because of my accent"
"Sur' they wont employ me because of my address"
"Sur' they wont employ me because of the school I went to"

During the current employment recession

"Sur' there's a recession on, I'll never get a job"

You cannot win. When I was out of work last year I was made to feel like a scrounger in Dominick Street. I was asked, 18 hours after losing my job, to provide proof I was looking for work. Yet there was a queue of 100 men at the desks(opposite) collecting money. I seriously doubt any of them were providing proof of seeking work.

Did you know that the Germans tried to ban social welfare recipients from gambling in the bookies. It didn't get them anywhere because the bookies said "It's cash, how do we know where they got the cash from" so the scheme didn't work out.

Resi12

LadyTBolt wrote: »

I do not agree that the new internship system is a joke.
For instance, you've recently left college as a qualified montessori teacher (example). You have the qualification but no work experience. You have two choices. You can pick up the dole and stay at home and wait for a fantastic paying job, or you can gain work experience which when a job does arise down the line you have the qualification and the experience to back it up.
I'd rather give a job to someone with a degree and some experience than somebody with just a degree.

I do understand some employers are taking advantage of it but in regards to the intern, which would be more self-satisfactory - sitting at home on the dole just because you have a degree and feel €238 is not enough pay for all the years you spent as a student or getting up off your back side day in day out to receive €238 and valuable work experience which you will not gain at home. I know what I'd do and I don't think it's a joke.

Yes, that's fine for recent graduates but I think the majority of people on the dole and in search of work are not in that situation.

To be honest recent graduates are the only people this serves, people who are already qualified wouldn't touch it and people not as qualified can't anyway. It's a terrible system that only caters to a small group, I guess it's something but I really think recent graduates would even move away first rather than work for such a minimum wage.

1huge1 wrote: »

You really are looking at it the wrong way, you make it sound like a punishment, these people are getting experience while they are on these internships, it gives them motivation, and it is good for both your physical and mental health to be working rather than being on social welfare.

At the end of the day people do have bills to pay no doubt, but not everything is about money.

Aren't people on these interships still technically on social welfare?

I wasn't calling the internships punishment, more so someone else's idea to make people on the dole wash Garda cars and fill potholes..

LadyTBolt

Beer Baron wrote: »

LadyTbolt.

Employers are abusing the internship programme.
While I'm here I suppose: With all the unemployed people in the country with a vast array of experience why, then, do we need Internships?

I know some employers are abusing the internship programme, I mentioned that in my post.

The internship programme gives people the opportunity to get up and gain experience. To show to prospective employers they did not just sit at home while they were unemployed, they got up and worked when the work was available.
I cannot begin to mention the amount of times I have heard people say that people on the dole should be out doing some sort of work instead of sitting at home. This scheme allows for that and they get an extra €50 p/wk.

How many people are on the dole and would like to gain skills/experience in something they never tried before because they felt there were so many people out there already with similar skills that they would never get the job if they applied for that? This scheme allows for that.

The downside to this programme is some employers will abuse it to a degree but the other side of coin, from a consumer point of view, is that if business XYZ can keep it's business open while reducing it's costs it is one more business open.

Every scheme has it's advantages and disadvantages.

I think this scheme will have more people benefiting from it than the number of people who are abusing it.

1huge1

Resi12 wrote: »

Aren't people on these interships still technically on social welfare?

I wasn't calling the internships punishment, more so someone else's idea to make people on the dole wash Garda cars and fill potholes..

Your missing my point if you think I was referring to a technicality.

I haven't heard about any of these internships involving washing Garda cars, but if they will gain experience and it will keep them in working ''mode'' then I am all for it.

Resi12

1huge1 wrote: »

Your missing my point if you think I was referring to a technicality.

I haven't heard about any of these internships involving washing Garda cars, but if they will gain experience and it will keep them in working ''mode'' then I am all for it.

I didn't miss your point, I know it is better to work (obviously) but if your on an internship your still on social welfare. I guess your earning it and that is something but your still on SW is all I am saying.

No, no.. I meant someone on here said anyone on the dole should be washing cars and filling potholes just because the fact they are on it anyway. It had nothing to do with internships and that's why I said the thing about being demeaned and that work seeming like punishment.

Poxyshamrock

How about something where businesses in a struggling city all agree to hire at least one more employee to try and get people off the live register! Couple of hundred shops hiring at least 1 person (more in the case of bigger stores/department stores) could make a big difference.

Call it Project One or something.

Kess73

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

How about something where businesses in a struggling city all agree to hire at least one more employee to try and get people off the live register! Couple of hundred shops hiring at least 1 person (more in the case of bigger stores/department stores) could make a big difference.

Call it Project One or something.

Nice idea. But the flipside is many stores are struggling to survive with the staff they have, so an extra wage could be the tipping point for many. I know of a few smallish businesses in the city centre who are hanging on by their fingernails and for whom the hiring of even one full timer on minimum wage could present the chance of other jobs there being at serious risk quickly if things did not pick up quickly.

Something like this could work only, imho of course, if the local authorities agreed to reduce rates in a significant manner for any stores that did this and who kept the staff on a full time basis. Maybe a two tier rate reduction programme would be a good start. The first tier being a flat rate reduction across the board within the city limits, and the second tier being a further reduction for every store that agreed to hire at least one person from the live register.

The authorities would lose out short term in terms of rate income, but the short to medium term advantage would be a number of new employees in the city centre who need to use car parks for their cars, who start buying food for lunch or daily papers in shops in town and so on. A busier town and more attractive rates may then attract some more businesses into the empty units in town and then the medium term could see the authorities making back the lost revenue through less empty units sitting idle.


Of course I know a much more detailed version of this idea, which took into account the finer fiscal details and the legal implications as existed at that time, was presented to a council member last year who replied that reducing rates was not needed as the work on Sarsfield street, william street and the Opera house (yes a few there are still trying to use this as some kind of proof of a turnaround:rolleyes:) would have businesses flocking to get into Limerick as well as people from other cities who would be coming to see the new street layouts. In other words the folk running the city have no idea what they are doing.

Berty

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

How about something where businesses in a struggling city all agree to hire at least one more employee to try and get people off the live register! Couple of hundred shops hiring at least 1 person (more in the case of bigger stores/department stores) could make a big difference.

Call it Project One or something.

There is a project like that based in Limerick. I'm on a different laptop so cant find it right now. Anyway the basicaly premise is that you agree to hire the person and they work for free BUT after 12 weeks YOU MUST give them a full time job unless they break the normal contract obligations that normal empoyees have during probation.

Kess73

Beer Baron wrote: »

There is a project like that based in Limerick. I'm on a different laptop so cant find it right now. Anyway the basicaly premise is that you agree to hire the person and they work for free BUT after 12 weeks YOU MUST give them a full time job unless they break the normal contract obligations that normal empoyees have during probation.

Yes but as anything that can be legally used as a probation excuse applies, then it is easy to get a person for free in for 12 weeks and then legally move them on when they time comes to hire them on a wage paying basis.

RonMexico

This is the result of bailing out the banks and turning to the IMF/EU for "help".

Austerity is going to last until 2015 and the way we are going I can see a lost decade ahead, similar to what happened in Japan.

110+ businesses have closed in Limerick in the past 18 months. Many many more are going to go to the wall in the coming months.

People have less and less disposable income and this is only going to get worse as taxes rise and social welfare is further reduced.

Graduates cannot be blamed if there are no jobs in their field. The only option for many is to emigrate.

Starting your own business in this climate is utterly insane due to the amount red tape, exorbitant rates and lack of a safety net if your business fails (you cannot get the dole).

The best advice I could give is to emigrate. I'll be leaving myself in the next 12 months. There is no future for me here and the quality of life in this country is only going to diminish in the decade ahead.

Kess73

RonMexico wrote: »

This is the result of bailing out the banks and turning to the IMF/EU for "help".

Austerity is going to last until 2015 and the way we are going I can see a lost decade ahead, similar to what happened in Japan.

110+ businesses have closed in Limerick in the past 18 months. Many many more are going to go to the wall in the coming months.

People have less and less disposable income and this is only going to get worse as taxes rise and social welfare is further reduced.

Graduates cannot be blamed if there are no jobs in their field. The only option for many is to emigrate.

Starting your own business in this climate is utterly insane due to the amount red tape, exorbitant rates and lack of a safety net if your business fails (you cannot get the dole).

The best advice I could give is to emigrate. I'll be leaving myself in the next 12 months. There is no future for me here and the quality of life in this country is only going to diminish in the decade ahead.

You bring up some very valid points, but when Limerick is looked at in detail, it is doing far worse than many of the other cities, and is certainly lagging behind in terms of the city/county councils reacting by reducing rates etc when compared to how their counterparts in Galway and Cork reacted.

A lot of Limerick's problems/failings are self inflicted as there are planners/councils/authorities who are simply not good at their jobs making decisions week after week, and avoiding any real issues.

Granted Limerick has always had a high level of unemplyment when compared to most of the rest of the country, but in recent years that has more than doubled again with the the amount of people unemplyed within the city limits now at the level of being 1 person in every 4 seeing as the city has a population of around 60,000 and there is now circa 15,000 unemployed.


The same level of unemployed folk and the same jump in new unemployment
simply has not happened in Galway, Cork etc within the city limits and those cities have managed to see growth. Serious questions should be asked why Limerick crumbled so badly and also as to why it was ignored at local and national level, and also as to how the same people can keep their jobs despite failing so badly in their roles.

RonMexico

Kess73 wrote: »

You bring up some very valid points, but when Limerick is looked at in detail, it is doing far worse than many of the other cities, and is certainly lagging behind in terms of the city/county councils reacting by reducing rates etc when compared to how their counterparts in Galway and Cork reacted.

A lot of Limerick's problems/failings are self inflicted as there are planners/councils/authorities who are simply not good at their jobs making decisions week after week, and avoiding any real issues.

Granted Limerick has always had a high level of unemplyment when compared to most of the rest of the country, but in recent years that has more than doubled again with the the amount of people unemplyed within the city limits now at the level of being 1 person in every 4 seeing as the city has a population of around 60,000 and there is now circa 15,000 unemployed.


The same level of unemployed folk and the same jump in new unemployment
simply has not happened in Galway, Cork etc within the city limits and those cities have managed to see growth. Serious questions should be asked why Limerick crumbled so badly and also as to why it was ignored at local and national level, and also as to how the same people can keep their jobs despite failing so badly in their roles.

Yes that is very true indeed. Limerick is an unemployment blackspot. I have a feeling that it is going to be ignored as it was in the past.

Azhrei

SarahBeep! wrote: »

I'd rather hop on a plane than stand in a dole queue. How many people are letting their skills go to waste??

Yes, because the majority are doing it on purpose. Who wouldn't want to survive on the pittance that is the dole? :rolleyes:

savagecabbages

To be honest i'd rather someone leave the country to find work than stay here on the dole feeling sorry for themselves waiting for the economy to pick back up.

A graduate with 5 years working experience returning to Ireland is worth a lot more to the country than one who has been supported on social welfare for the same 5 years, while not gaining any experience in whatever field of work they qualified in.

Resi12

savagecabbages wrote: »

To be honest i'd rather someone leave the country to find work than stay here on the dole feeling sorry for themselves waiting for the economy to pick back up.

A graduate with 5 years working experience returning to Ireland is worth a lot more to the country than one who has been supported on social welfare for the same 5 years, while not gaining any experience in whatever field of work they qualified in.

Any graduate with 5 years experience abroad is not coming back here. I mean why would they?

Also, the economy needs to be picked back up for jobs to actually get created to get the dole numbers down to a good amount. Even if people can get jobs today it is few and far between.

savagecabbages

I'm talking about people graduating RIGHT NOW, who face a choice:

Stay here on social welfare making the problem worse...
or
Leave the country, get some life/work experience and come back in a few years.

SarahBeep!

Azhrei wrote: »

Yes, because the majority are doing it on purpose. Who wouldn't want to survive on the pittance that is the dole? :rolleyes:

I never said it was happening on purpose. How about builders/carpenters/electricians volunteer for community projects so they're not totally outta practice WHEN a job offer does come along?

sm124

To be fair I understand the type of people Sarah is talking about. For example one person I know, who spent the whole 4 years of their degree pissing about drinking and doing **** all, who came out with a pass degree, is now on the dole, the effort to find a job was I went to a careers fair and there was nothing there. No intention to further the education which was recieved, which unfortunately is a neccesity nowadays. But the thing that really gets me is that this person spends the majority of their time going out, spending money that isn't even deserved as they have never had a job in the first place. For example one comment on Facebook that has annoyed me so much since reading, was about how this person finally got their dole and couldn't wait to go shopping in Pennys. I personally believe the vast majority of us have no problem with people who are unlucky enough to have lost their jobs, claiming dole until they find something, as in my eyes, they have paid their taxes and are entitled to it in their time of need. but people like this who are simply scroungers and nothing but disgusting. Who shouldn't even be entitled to benefits. I didn't get a job from my degree straight off, so I'm working my menial labour job to pay my own way and going on to further my education so I can help myself get a job. as are so many others around the country. There are jobs out there, for example Macdonalds and the fast food chains seem to constantly be looking for work, but people still have the mentality of before and won't do it. Then they blame the foreigners for taking our jobs. No matter what you do, there will ALWAYS be a group of people that spend their lives making excuses and have no problem in taking what they don't deserve. Solve the situation? Stop giving people like that money, do it like in America, give them food stamps and leave it at that.